We're gonna have a portrait party tonight, all right!

Come by the house at 7 pm tonight for a portrait party. We'll all draw each other drawing each other. The more the merrier. Although we have some materials, you might want to bring your favorite stuff to draw with or on.

Reading al fresca

Last night's reading was another success. It was the exit reading for Joel, our visiting writer who has been with us all month translating a book from Swedish into English.

It being a lovely summer evening, we began the readings in the yard, with about 15-20 people (and one dog) present. Artnoose (that's me) read two issues of Ker-bloom!, including the brand-new one finished up only hours before.

When the neighbor's pool party next door got so animated that we found it hard to resist crashing it, we moved the reading indoors, and Joel finished up in there. A discussion on the challenges and process of translation followed the reading, and then many of us stuck around for a little while eating snacks.

Every visiting writer we've had so far has been stellar, and although I miss them every time they leave, I appreciate the time that I do spend with them and value the space that we've given them to do important work.

Bloomsday hits Pittsburgh!

Joel and I were talking the other day about how Bloomsday was coming up, the celebration of James Joyce's novel Ulysses that happens every year on June 16, the day in which the novel is set. We wondered if we should host a Bloomsday event at the house.

I offered to see if anyone else was already planning an event, and of course I found bloomsdaypittsburgh.org and their list of events all around the city throughout the day. Check their website for more complete descriptions and locations, but here's the gist:

9:00 am - Bloomfield Crazy Mocha
10:30 am - Homewood Cemetery
12:00 pm - Murphy's Tap Room, Regent Square
2:30 pm - Carnegie Main Library
4:00 pm - Washington's Landing
5:30 pm - Harp & Fiddle, Strip District
8:00 pm - City Books, South Side

Bring your copy of the book to any (or all) of these events and read along.